Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that kyiv’s forces were resisting “new, even more violent attacks” in Soledar, near Bakhmout, a town in eastern Ukraine that Moscow has been trying to conquer for months.
“I thank all our soldiers who are protecting Bakhmout (…) and the fighters in Soledar who are resisting new and even more violent attacks from the invaders,” stressed the Ukrainian head of state in the daily night message addressed to the population.
Zelensky stressed that the resistance of the kyiv forces is allowing “to buy more time (…) for Ukraine”, despite pointing out a scenario in which “almost no entire walls remain”.
The Ukrainian head of state also questioned Russia’s objective in that region where “everything is completely destroyed” and “almost no life remains.”
“All the land under Soledar is covered with the corpses of the invaders and the scars from the blows,” he added.
The Ukrainian president had already warned on Monday that the situation on the combat front continues to be difficult, especially in Bakhmut and Soledar, but that the Ukrainian Army is deploying additional units to reinforce the defense in those locations.
For its part, the Ukrainian army confirmed that Bakhmut, a city in eastern Ukraine, continues to be “the hottest point on the front” of combat, where “intense fighting” takes place.
On Sunday, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Maliar also referred to a “very difficult” situation in Soldear, 15 kilometers northeast of Bakhmut.
According to Ukrainian intelligence services, Russia is preparing to launch new attacks on the country’s energy system, at a time when temperatures are registering a further drop.
These clashes come after a 36-hour unilateral ceasefire decreed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the occasion of Orthodox Christmas on Friday and Saturday. However, hostilities continued during the truce, but with less intensity.
Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine began almost a year ago and the UN has confirmed 6,919 civilian deaths and 11,075 wounded since the start of the war, stressing that these figures are far below the real ones.
The attacks also caused the displacement, inside and outside Ukraine, of more than 14 million people, in a refugee crisis that the UN classifies as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
Right now, 17.7 million Ukrainians need humanitarian aid and 9.3 million need food aid and shelter.
The Russian invasion was condemned by the broader international community, which has responded by sending arms, economic and humanitarian aid to Ukraine and imposing unprecedented political and economic sanctions on Moscow.
Source: TSF
